In Brief

Somerset House

Image courtesy of Collage The London Picture Gallery City of London.

Somerset House was built on the banks of the Thames River in London in 1547. The young Princess Elizabeth lived there for a period before becoming Queen Elizabeth I in 1553. It just escaped being consumed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was destroyed in 1775 and rebuilt enough by 1779 to be in use, although it was not deemed complete until 1801. 

Along with the Geological Society of London, which had two rooms there, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society, the Stamp Office, and numerous other governmental and quasi-governmental organizations have had offices at Somerset House over the years.